Arunraj credits TVK's bypoll wins to governance as health workers await talks

Tamil Nadu Health Minister K.G. Arunraj said on October 10 that TVK's two Assembly bypoll victories endorsed its first four months in government. He also promised further talks with protesting health workers and completion of stormwater drain works by the end of October.

Speaking to reporters after ancestral rituals at Bhavani Kooduthurai on the Cauvery, Arunraj said Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam had prevailed in Dharapuram and Madurantakam through its government's achievements. He claimed the party had neither distributed money nor restricted voters, and predicted further victories.

TVK won both seats on October 9. Indian Express reported that the results returned two former AIADMK legislators to the Assembly under TVK's banner, giving Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay an early electoral success.

Arunraj accused DMK and AIADMK of spreading false propaganda. Responding to DMK president M.K. Stalin's criticism that the results rewarded betrayal, he said voters knew who had betrayed them. He also disputed the suggestion that the Dharapuram result was a narrow victory.

The minister accused AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami of betraying his party and claimed its cadres had accepted Vijay's leadership. These were Arunraj's political assessments of the results.

On public health, Arunraj said dengue was under control and that sufficient personnel had been assigned to mosquito-control operations. Facilities were available for patients with fever, he said.

Preparing for the Northeast monsoon, the government expected to finish stormwater drain works by the end of October. Arunraj challenged the previous administration's claims that 80% to 95% of the work had been completed, saying the situation on the ground differed. He said the Chief Minister had held three review meetings.

Arunraj also addressed a protest by mid-level health workers, who had submitted a 21-point charter of demands. The government had invited them for another round of discussions, he said, promising an amicable resolution.

He argued that the workers should have approached him or the Health Department Secretary before protesting. He alleged that former DMK minister Mano Thangaraj's insistence on joining the negotiations had delayed talks.